Block-molding machine.



F. PETERS. BLOCK MOLDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE I5, 1916- l,220,452. Ps ltntedvMar. 27, 1917.

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BLOCK MOLDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 15. 1916.

Patented Mar. 27, 1917.

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F. E. PETERS.

BLOCK MOLDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 15. l9l'6.

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F. E. PETERS.

BLOCK MOLDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION man JUNE15. ms.

Patented Mar. 27, 1917.

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pinirnn emer es PATENT anion FRANK ELWOOD PETERS, OF INDIANAPOLIS,INDIANA, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, OF ONE-THIRD TO JOELID. EASTMAN AND ONE-THIRD 'IO SQUIRE R. GREEK, BGTH OF INDIANAPOLIS,INDIANA.

BLOGK-MOLDIIIG MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Iatent.

Patented Mar. 27, 1917.

Application filed June 15, 1916. Serial No. 103,770.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, F RANK ELwooD Pmnss, a citizen of the United States,residing at Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and State of Indiana,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Block-MoldingMachines; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention is a machine for constructing the cement blocks shown by myU. S. Patent Number 1,154,546 of September 21, 1915, said machineconsisting of three units at each one of which a laborer will beemployed, one for filling the molds with cement as they are successivelypresented, another for operating a' press to-tamp the cement in themold, and a third for operating an ejector for removing the completedblocks.

The principal object of the invention is to provide'a comparativelysimple machine which may be rapidly operated and which will be highlyefficient and durable, a plurality of novel features of constructionbeing employed which will be hereinafter fully described and claimed,the descriptive matter being supplemented by the accompanying drawingswhich constitute a part of this application and in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the improved machine;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially on the plane of the line22 of Fig. 1, with parts in elevation;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section substantially on the plane of the line 33of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a view somewhat similar to Fig. 3 but cut on the planerepresented by the lines 4& of Figs. 1 and 5, showing more particularlythe construction and manner of operation of the block ejecting means;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the base and the operating mechanism for theblock ejecting means;

Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view on the plane of the line 66 of Fig. 5,showing more particularly the means for preventing the molds from beingforced upwardly while operating the ejector;

Fig. 7 is a top plan view of one of the mold supporting frames and thehub to which said frames are secured;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view of Fig. 7 taken on the planes represented bythe line 88;

Fig. 9 is a top plan view of the horizontal arm upon which the pressoperating means is mounted;

Fig. 10 is a top plan view of one of the molds; I

Fig. 11 is a longitudinal sectional view thereof on the plane of theline 11-11;

Fig. 12 is a transverse section of said mold on the plane designated bythe line 12-12 of Fig. 10;

Figs. 13 and 14- are respectively detail vertical and horizontalsections on the planes of the lines 1313 and lei-14: of Fig. 2, showingmore particularly the construction of the means for locking the molds inproper position for cooperation with the press and e3ector;

Fig. 15 is a plan view of the pallet employed for constructing themajority of the blocks;

Fig. 16 is a transverse section of Fig. 15 on the plane of the line16-16;

Fig. 17 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but illustrating a rearrangement ofparts to permit shorter and irregularly formed blocks to be constructed;

Fig. 18 is a horizontal section on the plane of the liney1S-18 of Fig.17, showing the application of a filler block to one of the molds forconstructing the blocks last mentioned, this view also disclosing theuse of a slightly different form of press plate;

Fig. 19 is a plan view of the pallet employed when the parts disclosedin Fig. 18 are used; and

Fig. 20 is a perspective view of the filling block shown in Fig. 18.

In specifically describing the structure shown in the drawings abovebriefly described, similar characters will be employed to designatecorresponding parts through out the several views and reference willbeherein made to the numerous elements by their respective indices. Tothis end, the numeral 1 designates a base consisting of an annular track2, an anchoring member 3 within said track, a trio of radiating arms 4connecting the parts 2 and 3, and a horizontal arm 5 extending outwardlyfrom the track 2.

An upright standard 6 is threaded at its lower end in a boss 7 at thecenter of the member 3, upper and lower nuts 8 and 9 being mounted onsaid standard in contact with the upper and lower ends of the aforesaidboss. A second standard 10 rises from the outer end of the arm 5 and isanchored in the same manner as standard 6. A horizontal arm 11preferably in the form of a casting extends between the upper ends ofthe standards 6 and 10 and is provided at one end with a split collar 12slidably and rotatably surrounding the standard 6, said collar havingears 13 on opposite sides of its slit and a bolt 14 passing through saidears, whereby the collar may be contracted around the standard toprevent rotation or sliding. Since an upward trust is exerted on arm 11whenever the press to be de scribed is operated, a jam nut 15 ispreferably threaded on the standard 6 in contact with the upper end ofcollar 12. The other end of the arm 11 is formed with a transverse slot16 whose sides are formed on an are having the axis of the collar 12 asits center, said slot receiving therein the upper.

end of standard 10. By this arrangement it will be observed that whenthe bolt 14 is loosened suiiiciently, the arm 11 may be ad justedlaterally to a slight extent, this being essential for reasons to becomeclear as the descriptive matter proceeds. For locking the slotted end ofarm 11 in adjusted position, upper and lower nuts 17 and 18 are threadedon the standard 10 in contact with said end.

A turntable 20 is provided with wheels 21 traveling on the track 2 andwith a hub 22 which is rotatable 0n the intermediate portion of thestandard 6. The hub 22 is preferably in the form of a casting and isprovided with a trio of angularly disposed attaching flanges 23 by meansof which rectangularframes 24 are secured thereto, said frames havingeach mounted thereon a rectangular block mold 25.

Each frame 24 includes a. pair of transverse bars 26 spaced inwardlyfrom its ends, said bars having at their ends vertical guides 27 andbeing formed between their ends with bosses or the like in which theupper ends of guide bars 28 are anchored. Cross heads 29 are slidablymounted on the bars 28 and are limited in their downward movement bynuts or other appropriate stops 30, said cross heads each having a pairof upright rods 31 which rise through the guides 27 and throughapertures in the bottoms of the molds 25, said rods servin to support ontheir upper ends the pallets 32 whose struc ture will be hereinafterdescribed. (See Fig. 3). The rods 31 also eject the pallets 32 and thecompleted blocks when the cross heads 29 are raised.

Each of the frames 24 has mounted there on a rock shaft 33 having a pairof crank arms 34 which are connected by links 35 with the cross heads29, each of said shafts also having an additional crank arm 36 which ispreferably curved as shown most'clearly in Figs. 3 and 4. hen theturntable is rotated to the proper position, the arm 36 of any of themolds is adapted to be raised to the position shown in Fig. 4 by an arm37 carried by a rock shaft 38 mounted in bearings 39 on one of the arms4, said shaft having an operating lever 40 and a stop 41, the latterserving to limit the movement of said shaft in either direction. Thefree end of arm 37 is preferably flattened at 42 as depicted in Fig. 4in order that any of the arms 36 may be supported thereby when raised,even though the operator of the ejecting means should release the lever40.

The outermost of the bearings 39 is provided with a rigid hook 43 whichrises therefrom and is adapted to overlie lateral stops 44 disposed oneon each wheel bracket 45 of the numerous frames 24, it being within saidbrackets that the wheels 21 are mounted. It is to be understood that thehook 43 successively engages the stops 44 as the turntable issuccessively turned from one position to another and that the provisionof this construction will prevent any possibility of canting theturntable 20 when the lever 40 is being operated to eject the completedblocks. Another of the arms 4 is equipped with bearings 39 constructedin the same manner as those above described in order that the locationof the block ejecting means may be changed if this should be desirable.

For packing or tamping the cement in the molds 25 as they aresuccessively presented beneath the arm 11, a vertically moving tampingplate 46 is provided, this plate being of the same shape as the pallets32. A pair of transverse bars 47 are detachably secured by screws or thelike 48 t0 the upper side of plate 46, said bars having upright rigidguide rods 49 which are normally re ceived in vertical guides 50 formedas integral parts of the arm 11, said rods, however, being capable ofreception in additional vertical guides 51 on said arm, the last namedguides being disposed nearer together than guides 50. Ears 52 rise fromthe remote edges of the bars 47 and are pivoted by means of a horizontalrod or the like 53 to the lower ends of a pair of links 54 which passthrough transverse slots 55 ex tending through the arm 11 between theguides 50. The upper ends of the links 5a are provided with bands 56surrounding eccentrics 57 on a horizontal shaft 58 which extends abovethe arm 11 and is rotatably mounted in suitable bearings 59 which risefrom said arm. A hand wheel 60 is secured on the outer end of theshaft58 for rotating the same at will whereby the eccentrics are made toraise and lower the tamping plate at, but in some cases it may bedesirable to employ more powerful means for turning said shaft. Foraccomplishing this result, a hand lever (31 is mounted for oscillationon the shaft 58 and is provided with a. dog 62 adapted to engage aratchet 63 secured to the aforesaid shaft.

For locking the turntable 20 against rotation automatically when turnedthe proper amount after pressing one block and ejecting another, aspring projected locking lever 64 is fulcrumed between its ends to thestandard l0, the inner end of said lever cooperating with keeper plates65 whose lower edges are beveled to points and formed at said pointswith notch s to receive said end of the lever. Plates 65 have therein apair of horizontal slots 66 through which screws or the like 67 pass tosecure said plates to the outer ends of the frames 24-, one of saidplates being secured to each frame. By attaching the plates 65 in thismanner, they may be adjusted to accurately position the molds 25 forcooperation with the manually operated unit of the ejecting means,namely, the parts 37, 38 and 40, and after this adjustment has beenmade, the arm 11 may be adjusted laterally by loosening the nuts 17 andthe bolt 14, thereby correctly disposing the tamping plate 46 for properreception in the molds. The arm 11 may be adjusted at any other time asoccasion may demand. 1 As the press operates and forces the tampingplate l6 downwardly upon the cement in the mold, some provision must bemade for permitting any excess material to escape and as simple meansfor allowing this, the bottom of each mold 25 is formed with a pluralityof slots or other suitably shaped openings 68, said material beingpermitted to pass through the pallets 82 in the slight spaces whichexist between upright cores 69 rising from the bottoms of the molds andopenings 70 formed through said pallets. The latter are preferablystamped from sheet metal and have suitable corrugations through whichthe openings 70 pass, this construction being necessary for properlyforming the upper and lower sides of the blocks depicted in the patentabove referred to. The tamping plate 46 is identical in constructionwith the pallet 32 and the illustration and description of one willtherefore suflice for both.

Preferably employed in conjunction with the parts so far described are anumber of shallow pans 71 which are received in the cut away upperportions of the frames Qtt. These pans will receive therein any cementwhich may fall through the slots 68 and will thus prevent it fromdropping upon the working parts of the ejecting means.

If thin blocks are to be constructed, the pallets 32 may be heldelevated within the molds 25 by disposing sleeves 72 beneath saidpallets and securing them to the bot toms of the molds by bolts 73 asshown in Fig. 12. When comparatively short blocks having one irregularlyshaped end, are to be manufactured, said blocks being adapted for use atthe ends of the joist of a building, the arrangement of parts depictedin Figs. 17 and 18 may be employed, two of these parts being illustratedin detail in Figs. 19 and 20. A filling block 7% is then placed ineither end of each mold 25 and the tamping plate a6 together with thepallet will be shaped as shown in Figs. 18 and 19, the rods 49 beingmounted in the guides 51 instead of in guides 50, in order that'the bars47 may not strike the block 74 whether the latter be in one end of themold or the other. If the block in question is disposed in the oppositeend of the mold from that depicted in Fig. 18, however, it will beunderstood that the tamping plate L6 and the pallet must becorrespondingly reversed.

From the foregoing, the numerous features of construction of theimproved 1na chinewill be clear but before concluding, I will explainbriefly the manner in which the same is operatec. Three laborers arerequired, one for filling the molds 25 with cement after the palletshave been placed therein, one for operating the press to tamp the cementafter the turntable 20 has been turned the necessary amount andautomatically locked by the lever (3%, and a third for operating thelever 4:0 to eject the completed blocks from the machine. The threeworkmen may obviously be all employed at the same time and the operationof the machine will therefore be continuous, with the result that blocksmay be rapidly though correctly malnifacturcd. Particular emphasis islaid upon the adjustment and mount ing of the arm 11, upon the structureof the ejecting means, and upon the formation of the pallets and tampingplate, although the other features shown and described are deemed ratherimportant.

In conclusion, I will state that although I have shown and described anumber of specific details of construction for accomplishing probablythe best results, numerous changes may he made within the scope of theinvention as claimed without sacrificing the main advantages thereof.

' I claim:

1. A cement block molding machine comprising a base, a standard risingtherefrom,

a turntable having a hub mounted on said standard, said table carrying aplurality of block molds, a press member for tamping the cement in themolds, and means for locking said turntable in position to dispose anyof its molds below the press member; in combination with a secondstandard rising from the base out of the path of the table, a horizontalarm extending between and serving as a support for the press member andits operating means, one end of said arm being pivotally mounted on thefirst standard for slight horizontal swinging and the other end of saidarm having a transverse slot receiving the upper end of the secondstandard, whereby said arm may be adjusted horizontally to accuratelyaline the press member with the mold, and means for holding the slottedend of the arm against movement after adjustment thereof.

2. A cement block molding machine comprising a base, a standard risingrigidly therefrom, a turntable having a hub mounted on" said standard,said table carrying a plurality of block molds, a press member fortamping the cement in the molds, and means for locking said turntable inposition to dispose any of its molds below the press member; incombination with a second standard rising from the base out of the pathof the table, and a horizontal arm extending between the two standardsand serving as a support for the press member and its operating means,one end of said arm having thereon a split collar slidable and rotatableon the first named standard, said collar having a clamping bolt wherebyit may be contracted around its respective standard, the other end ofsaid arm having a transversely extending slot receiving the upper end ofthe second standard to permit horizontal adjustment of the arm toaccurately aline the press member with the mold, and nuts threaded onsaid second standard in contact with the upper and lower side of saidarm. 3. A cement block molding machine comprising a base including anannular track, a plurality of arms extending inwardly from said track,an anchor member to which the inner ends of said arms are secured, and ahorizontal arm projecting outwardly from the track, an upright standardrising rigidly from the aforesaid anchor member, a second standardrising rigidly from the outer end of the last named arm of the base, anda horizontal arm extending between and secured to the upper ends of thetwo standards; a turntable having a hub mounted on the first namedstandard and having wheels traveling on the aforesaid annular track,said table having a plurality of block molds, a vertically movable pressmember below the last named arm, operating means for said press membermounted on said arm, and means for locking said table in position topermit any one of its molds to receive said press member.

4. A cement block molding machine comprising a block mold, a tampingplate for packing cement therein, upright guide rods rising rigidly fromsaid plate near the ends thereof, a fixed member above said tampingplate, upright guides carried by said member and receiving the aforesaidrods slidably,

means on said member for depressing said plate, and additional guidesspaced inwardly from the others to permit the aforesaid rods to be movedinwardly and secured to a shorter tamping plate when shorter blocks areto be constructed.

5. A cement block molding machine comprising a mold open at its upperside, a press member adapted to be forced into said mold to pack thecement therein, and an apertured pallet to be disposed in said mold, thebottom of said mold having apertures formed therethrough to permitsurplus cement to be forced from the mold when the press memberdescends.

6. A cement block molding machine comprising a horizontal frame havingits upper side cut away substantially throughout its length to receive apan, a mold secured on said frame, an apertured pallet to be employed insaid mold, and a press member adapted to be forced into said mold topack the cement therein, the bottom of said mold having openings formedtherethrough to permit excess cement to drop into the aforesaid pan.

7. A cement block molding machine comprising a turntable having thereona plurality of block molds each equipped with ejecting means for thecompleted blocks including a vertically swinging arm, a rock shaftsecured against movement in respect to said turntable beneath thelatter, means for rocking said shaft at will, and a second arm securedon said shaft and adapted to be forced upwardly into engagement with theaforesaid arm when said shaft is rocked, in combination with means forlocking the turntable against movement when the arm on the mold isproperly positioned in respect to that of the rock shaft. 7

8. A cement block molding machine combeneath the mold and having a pairof crank arms extending in the same direction, links connecting saidcrank arms with said cross heads, a third and curved arm extendinglaterally from said rock shaft beneath the mold, an additional rockshaft in a plane below the other, means for turning said additionalshaft at will, and an additional arm my hand in the presence of twosubscribing secured on this shaft to be forced into en- Witnesses.gagement With the last named arm of the other rock shaft to raise thelatter, thereby FRANK ELWOOD PETERS 5 raising the crossheads to ejectthe aforesaid Witnesses:

rods. CHAS. MENDENHALL,

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set J. BU'RDETTE LETTLE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of IPatentsa Washington, D. O.

